Any dog can have fun tracking by Wendy Beasley
29 Jan 2009 08:00
WITH THE arrival of the new year many people’s thoughts will turn to a new hobby and since I have been going on at length about dogs needing to do something, perhaps some at least will give a thought to teaching their dogs some ‘new tricks.’
Although most of the time I write about working trials and report on the highest level of competition there is no reason why many trials exercises could not be adapted for pet dogs and novice handlers and even if there may be no chance of you or your dog ever taking part in a trial you could still have a great deal of fun learning some of the exercises at whatever level suits you.
With this in mind I thought we could take a look at the tests and see how they could be adapted to suit all sorts of breeds and abilities.
For trials folk there is little doubt that nosework plays the biggest part in competition and for me it certainly provides the most pressure.
There are two reasons for this, firstly the track carries more marks than any other single exercise, and secondly, as it is often the first exercise, a failure can mean the end of the trial.
However, it is also true to say that for most dogs nosework is one of their favourite pastimes and one only has to watch any dog out on a walk to realise how much pleasure they derive from their nose.
This is not always terribly convenient for the owner who ends up dragging their dog away from something it is intent on sniffing. But how much nicer it could be if the dog was taught that not only was it allowed to sniff but that we would be delighted with it when it did.
To teach this one first has to find what motivates the dog and although for many it will be food, some will enjoy a toy and a game just as much so for pet dog games either will do.
Start out by placing the desired item in clear view of your dog while it watches. This can be indoors or out but the item should be reasonably small and the dog left sufficiently far away so that it is not immediately obvious.
An easy way to do this is to have the dog one side of the door or gate and make much of opening it and putting the item on the other side.
Go back to your dog, open the door/gate and tell him to ‘find.’ From this small beginning you can move on very quickly and within no time at all your dog will be rushing off and finding several items and either eating them or bringing them back to you for a game.
You will be able to hide the items and bring your dog out only when they are hidden and then have the pleasure of watching how he uses his nose to locate them.
Here you have the beginning of a trials search square and although there are finer points to be tuned for competition there is no limit to how far your imagination can take you when it’s just for fun so you can teach your dog to search under, behind and on top of things and see just how clever he is.
On the right lines
Tracking can be just as easy and the way to start this is let your dog watch you take something he really wants and walk in a straight line from a marker (you can use a stake, cane or electric fence post for this) dragging your feet slightly as you walk, and perhaps putting a tasty titbit at the beginning near the marker and then every few steps to encourage your dog to get his nose down and keep moving forward.
Only walk about15 to 20 yards to start with and make sure that the dog knows you have the desired object. Try to pick something that cannot be seen when it is laid on the ground so it should be not too big or bright.
But if it is to be food put it in some sort of container so that the dog actually finds an article which produces a quantity of food rather than the tiny bits along the track. Once you have laid this down go back to the dog ensuring that you walk an arc avoiding the line you came up and, with the dog on a lead (and preferably a harness rather than a collar which will restrict him) encourage him to sniff at the marker for the food and use words that can be associated with tracking, such as ‘track on’ or ‘where does it go?’
Do not try to direct the dog and be patient while he works it out, only following when he moves forward of his own accord, and once your dog has got the idea that following the footprints leads to his desire the sky’s the limit.
Over a period of time you can walk further and introduce changes of direction – just make sure you know where you have walked and then for the dog’s benefit pretend that you don’t.
Obviously for competition standard it’s all a bit more complicated and the training more intense, but for a fun game that you and your dog can enjoy together this will be a great success.
Beyond nosework one of the other things you can teach for fun is jumping which can be adapted to your dog’s breed and ability bearing in mind that a broom handle on two bricks is all that is needed for some of the smaller breeds whereas upturned buckets or garden chairs can provide the ‘wings’ for bigger obstacles. Straw bales stacked in a cornfield can provide a scaling facility (with the farmer’s permission of course) and a long jump can be fashioned from some bricks and broomsticks or canes painted white.
There is no need to spend big money but by making use of what you have most trials exercises can be simulated at whatever level suits your dog.
The sendaway is another thing your dog will enjoy. Just take him and a frisby, tugger or similar toy to the edge of your garden or a field and lay the toy on the ground then walk your dog back away from it − just a short way to start with. Then stop, turn him round and with a word like ‘away’ let him run back to his toy. Eventually as you stretch the distance you will be amazed how far he is prepared to run to get to the beloved toy and you will have a dog doing a very convincing sendaway.
Finally we come to PD and although I strongly advise you not to teach your dog to bite in any circumstances there is no reason why it should not learn the search and quarter which is after all ‘hide and seek’ and the basis for all search and rescue work.
Tremendous fun
This can be tremendous fun for kids as well as dogs and I well remember my young granddaughter, an only child, teaching her dog to play this game when she was only five years old and shrieking with delight when he found her.
Dogs soon learn to find their owners and if this is combined with a ‘speak’ for a tit-bit or toy then not only is it great fun but as you stretch the distances it can also provide good exercise for dog and handler. As with nosework start by letting your dog watch you hide, either in a wait if he is obedient enough, or by getting someone else to hold him. Once you have gone out of sight call him and see how long it takes him to find you.
Make sure you always hide somewhere where you can watch your dog so that there is no danger of losing him and this, as with nosework, can even be started in the house, progressing to the garden and then eventually to wider horizons.
So here are some fun things to do with your dog whatever the breed. As well as making your time with your dog much more interesting this might also go some way to ensuring that we at least try to maintain the working ability in our dogs and, who knows, perhaps you will find that both you and your dog are enjoying it so much you would like to try the real thing.